CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Browns have no plans to cut Isaiah Crowell, but they made it clear that actions must speak louder than words when it comes to his apology for an Instagram post depicting a police officer being stabbed in the neck by a person in a black hood.

Crowell posted the photo on Wednesday after the fatal shooting of two black men by police, one in Minnesota and one in Louisiana. But he took it down after a few minutes and issued an apology Monday through the Browns.

With racial tensions running high in the country in the wake of the fatal shootings of five police officers in Dallas on Thursday many fans and some media, including ESPNCleveland's Bruce Hooley, have called for Crowell's immediate dismissal by the Browns.

They currently have no plans to do that, but stressed in a statement that he must back up his words with action.

"We have spoken to Isaiah regarding his extremely disturbing and unacceptable social media decision,'' the Browns said in the statement, attributed to a team spokesman. "It was completely inappropriate and we have made him aware of our high level of disappointment. Isaiah has apologized but also knows that just an apology is insufficient and that he must take steps to make a positive difference after a very negative and impactful post.''

Before making any determination on possible discipline for Crowell, the Browns will give him a chance to redeem himself by being part of the solution instead of the problem. At this point, both the team and the NFL seem satisfied that Crowell took the post down immediately, acknowledged his mistake and is genuinely remorseful.

"The image was inappropriate and insensitive,'' NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in an email response. "He realized this, took down the post and has since apologized.''

Crowell, who posted the illustration the day before the Dallas ambush and not in response to it, acknowledged how wrong he was.

"Last week was an emotional and difficult week as we saw extreme acts of violence against black men across our country as well as against police officers in Dallas,'' he wrote. "I posted an image to Instagram in the midst of that emotion that I shouldn't have and immediately removed it. It was an extremely poor decision and I apologize for that mistake and for offending people.

"My values and beliefs do not match that image. I am outraged and upset by the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile along with so many others. I am also outraged and saddened by the attacks in Dallas and the deaths of the five honorable police officers (Lorne Ahrens, Michael Krol, Michael J. Smith, Brent Thompson and Patrick Zamarripa) who were providing protection while trying to keep peace.

"We have to be better as a society, it's not about color, it's about what's right and wrong. I was very wrong in posting that image. Every single life matters, every death as a result of violence should be treated with equal outrage and penalty.''

A person close to Crowell told cleveland.com that the running back fully understands the gravity of his mistake and feels horrible. But will that be enough for outraged Browns fans?

In a poll conducted by cleveland.com, 69.55 percent of readers as if 10:20 p.m. said Crowell should face as severe a punishment as possible; 18.37 percent responded that the teams should fine him, and 12.08 percent said the deletion and apology was enough.

In the illustration posted by Crowell, the officer is being stabbed in the neck by a person in a black jacket and hood, with his face covered. He has an ankh pendant around his neck, which was an ancient Egyptian character that represented the concept of eternal life. He's also wearing black gloves and an American flag backpack.

Blood is spurting out of the officer's neck and mouth, which is covered by the murderer's hand.